Assessment of motivation to change substance use in dually-diagnosed schizophrenia patients

Assessment of motivation to change substance use can be helpful in evaluating treatment readiness and outcome. However, the utility of self-report measures of motivation with schizophrenia patients is questionable. In the current study patients with schizophrenia and either concurrent cocaine dependence or remitted dependence completed the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment-Maryland (URICA-M), a self-report inventory that assesses motivation, and an analogous cartoon instrument at baseline and 6-months follow-up. Results demonstrate that the cartoon readiness to change score was related to increased treatment utilization and decreased substance use; results were not as favorable for the URICA-M. Findings suggest that the cartoon measure may be a suitable alternative to assess motivation to change substance use with cognitively impaired patients.